Home Is Where the Heart Is
by sanfrasm
Summary: The story of two otters who have been separated by an evil force, and their quest to reunite. Please Read and Review.
1. Prologue

When there is darkness, face to the sun

Never forget how far you've come

Remember those who wait for you

And follow your heart home

Follow those well-trodden paths

To the place where rivers are as clear as glass

Under the wide, starry skies

When your heart is home at last

* * *

_ Tonight we are holding a huge feast for the Tellin' of Tales. (Well most of the meals here at Salamandastron are pretty large.) I believe that this night is perfect to have such a feast, with the wind being a chilly one and all. It just makes one want to cuddle up to a big plate filled with turnovers, scones, and the like, and how could I forget, a nice large cup of tea. But I digress. Well, anyway, it was hard deciding which story to tell. There have been so many legendary tales that have come from this mountain. I eventually decided on a story that took place not long ago, about twelve seasons back, I think. Back around the time when I was still young and spry, when I was a runner for the Long Patrol. It's about- well I think I'll just let you enjoy the surprise just like everyone else. I better be getting up to the hall before I'm late._

_Violet_

_Official Keeper of Salamandastron's Scrolls, History, and What-Not_

_(Wot, Wot)_

* * *

_**Flashback**_

The morning was anything but clear; in fact it looked as if the clouds would burst at any moment. Being this close to the shoreline one could always expect a squall around this time of year. A young otter with black fur sat at the edge of a stream waiting for a nice fish to swim up. When it started to drizzle she hardly took any notice of it. The young otter had been a wanderer for as long as she could remember. She longed for some sort of adventure, which was exactly the reason she took up life as a traveler. She wanted to see strange and exotic places, meet interesting creatures, but most of all she wanted to meet the stoat that had taken the only thing that she had truly held close to her. Her life.

* * *

***Author's Note**

**As I said in the summary, this is my first fan fiction. I know that it is short, but I want to see what people think about the Prologue before I go any farther. Again please Read and Review, because I want to know what you think.**


	2. A Feast of Tales

As I was entering into the Main Hall, I could smell the scrumptious feast already in progress. I went up and got myself some dandelion cordial, fresh fruit salad, summercream pudding, and several freshly baked pastries, before I started with my story. Storytellers need to eat too, you know.

On my way to the front of the hall I passed by Torfol, or rather Lieutenant Torfol, of the Long Patrol. At one point he and I served alongside each other.

He was a tall and very regal looking hare. He had his whiskers carefully waxed into a moustache, and a monocle over his left eye. His jacket, which was decorated with quite an array of medals and pins, was royal blue. Not a hair was out of place on that hare.

"Don't go eating all o' the food, young missy," Torfol playfully reprimanded me. I had a hard time answering him with a straight face as I saluted, "Yessir! No need to worry about that."

Torfol then very sweetly escorted me up to the storyteller's chair at the front of the Main Hall, and just before he left for his seat, he gave me a nice kiss on the cheek. With that I think I turned almost as red as the strawberries in my salad. I had to pause for a minute before I started in order to recover myself.

"Ahem. May I have everyone's attention." There was no response from the boisterous hares. "HEY!" There was immediate silence, "Now, if you don't mind I would like to get on with the story before the night ends. All right then, let me take you to an island a bit to the South of here called Halfmoon Isle. It is there that our story begins."

* * *

In the South Seas there lies a little undiscovered island, by the name of Halfmoon Isle. The island was given that name because it happened to look like half of a circle, but the inhabitants couldn't have very well named it Halfcircle Isle because for some reason that did not sound quite right.

There was a freshwater river that cut its way through the middle of the island. It started at the top of a dormant volcano. At the top there was a lake, which held all of the rain that had fallen over countless seasons. This lake had gradually overflowed and started trickling down the mountain to form a river that flowed across the island.

Halfmoon Isle was a very small island that had an interesting assortment of creatures that lived there. A holt of otters, a tortoise, and some seafaring birds were what comprised the majority of the population on the island.

Aside from the inhabitants, who had found the island, no one knew that it even existed. Therefore they were able to live in peace and quiet away from all of the vermin that were constantly plaguing the coasts of the mainland.

* * *

The sky was turquoise blue, and the sun was already burning hot, even though dawn had broken not too long ago. A few otters, who had just woken up, sat fixing breakfast underneath a palm tree. There was on older female otter, and two younger otters sitting with her.

"Seems t'be shaping up to be a hot one," remarked Lilly, the eldest of the three.

"We best be gettin' ev'rything done before the sun gets too high then," the male otter, Tavin Brookwater, said.

"Yore always talkin' sense, Tavin. How about I finish up here. You and Schorl go fill up some more jugs o' water."

"Sure thing marm. C'mon Schorl."

The two younger otters then left carrying two large ceramic jugs apiece, and headed for the river. Walking side by side, it seemed as though it was meant for them to be together.

Lilly sat watching them walk off into the distance. It was a peaceful morning, with the sound of birds singing softly to the morning.

Suddenly the peace was broken when there was a loud crash. A set of twin otters came barreling out of one of the caves that had been dug out from the side of one of the foothills. The ottermaid's name was Sturm and the male otter's name was Drang. These two were aptly named because they were quite a handful ever since the day that they were born.

Lilly had been like a nursemaid to these two otters ever since they were babes. So she was the only one who they listened to. Their mother had gotten very ill when they were young and she was unable to care for them, therefore the job fell to Lilly.

"Halt you two younguns. Where d'ye think you're off to in such a hurry?"

Sturm and Drang ground to a halt. There was a pause, and the two otters looked at each other. Then they started babbling like blithering idiots.

"Well ya see…"

"We were just tryin' to…"

"We didn't wanna wake anybody up, an'…"

Lilly had to clasp a paw to each of their mouths in order to get them to shut up. She let out a huge sigh and said, "Alright, one at a time. Sturm, you can speak first."

"Well, we were jus' tryin' to be helpful and get some water from the river. But the jug was up too high."

Drang then cut in, "I stood on top of Sturm's back, and I got it off the shelf alright."

"But we both lost our balance, and down we came water jug an' all," Sturm cut back in. "Then we bolted afore anybody saw us." Both Sturm and Drang looked down at the ground and shuffled their feet.

Lilly could tell how bad they felt just by looking at them. It wasn't as if they were purposefully bad. They just always were in the wrong spot at the wrong time, and they didn't think things all the way through before they barreled headlong into them.

* * *

**A/N: I decided to redo this chapter because I felt like I could make it better. Sorry for having put you through the first version. **


	3. Sturm and Drang

It was about halfway to noon, and already the sun was beating down pretty heavily, as Tavin and Schorl made their way to the river. It had been an especially hot and humid summer. The mornings were clear and the skies were blue, but then after midnoon it would get cloudy. It seemed as if everyday the skies would rip open into a rainstorm. Schorl looked up at the already graying sky.

"It seems as if it is goin' to rain earlier today."

"We had best be 'urrying then," Tavin said, looking up at the sky that was blackening with ominous clouds. "It be lookin' like no ordinary rain shower either."

The pair climbed the next hill and looked down to see the river weaving its way through the foothills. The river ran swiftly down to the sea. It was so clear that you could see the pebbles at the bottom. The two otters strode to the waters edge and sat down.

There was a rustling in the grass at the top of the hill. "I b'leve that there is a couple o' beasts watchin' us, eh Schorl."

"I think yore right." Then Schorl put on a face of mock fright and said, "Wotever shall we do. Two poor 'elpless beasts like us bein' stalked by big brutes."

Tavin quickly caught on to what she was doing, and joined in on the fun. "Aye. Us, bein' all alone, and away from 'elp."

"Must be very clever vermin."

Then a voice sounded from the top of the hill, "Yarr! We be pirates come ta pillage an' burn yore village."

Another beast spoke from the hiding place on top of the hill, "Methinks it's the other way around. I think we're apposed ta burn an' then pillage."

"Yew idjit! Wot d'ye expect t'get from an already burnt village."

"Yarr. Ye be right. Won't do much good pillagin' from a place wot's already burnt."

An audible sigh was heard from the top of the hill. During the two beasts conversation, both Tavin and Schorl were nearly exploding from trying not to laugh. Through barely suppressed giggles, Schorl managed to get out a reply.

"I take back what I said about them bein' clever."

An otter popped out from his hiding spot, "'Ey! Wot's that supposed ta mean."

Another otter stood up from her hiding spot. "Now look what you've done. You've gone an' ruined our game," Sturm yelled at her brother.

By this point, Tavin and Schorl were rolling on the ground laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. The two otters on top of the hill were staring wide-eyed at the two usually refined otters. It was quite a funny sight to behold, two fully-grown otters laughing their heads off as if they were little otter babes. Sturm and Drang looked at each other, neither knowing quite what to do. Eventually Tavin regained his composure, but Schorl, on the other hand, could not stop giggling.

"So what are ye two doing down here anyway?" Tavin inquired.

"Lilly sent us to come and 'elp you guys get some water. And we decided to 'ave a bit o' fun," Drang said.

The four of them then filled up the water jugs, none too soon either. A few large drops fell from the sky, and then there was a loud crash of thunder. With that the clouds ripped open and the rain started falling in sheets. The four otters quickly picked up the water jugs and ran back to the caves.

* * *

A large battered ship was sitting in the darkness of night, the wind whipping cruelly at her sails. Through the rain and lightning, she was quite fearsome to behold. The sails were in a state of disrepair, it was amazing that they still functioned because there were a great many holes in them. Clearly this ship had seen numerous battles, as had its captain and crew. They say that its captain was one of the best trackers that had ever sailed the high seas.

Gorvin Terass, the stoat captain, sat perched on the bowsprit of his vessel, the _Deathwake._ He was a fairly large stoat that wielded two twin sabres as his weapons of choice. His eyes were an icy blue, and he had a gaze that would pierce right through your soul. His presence commanded respect, which indeed it did, for the most part.

"Yew wanted ta see me Cap'n?" the first mate, Bilgeclaw, asked.

Gorvin Terass stared straight ahead into black night and did not reply. It seemed almost as if he did not hear the sea rat. There was a moment of awkward silence, and then the powerful stoat spoke.

"Aye. Ah wan' ye tae go up tae the crow's nest an' tell me wha' ye see."

"But Cap'n, it's pitch dark an' there's lightnin'."

"Did ye 'ear wha' ah said, or would ye rather me ge' a new first mate?" Gorvin Terass said in a deathly calm voice.

Bilgeclaw hurried off to do as he was commanded, but not before muttering something under his breath once he was sure that he was out of hearing range. While this was happening, a gull had wheeled around the top of the mast once and then flew off to the south and west.

* * *

Back at Halfmoon Isle the rain had slowed to a very light drizzle. A meeting had been called because for the first time it seemed as if the island might be in danger of an attack. A gull, that was slightly smaller than normal, had seen a large ship that belonged to a corsair, and had come back to warn the inhabitants of the island.

At the head of the long table in the center of the room, was a tortoise named Theta. He was old and spent the better part of his days sunning himself. Also, since he was so old, he was very wise and was a very good creature to go to get advice.

"Many thanks to you, my friend, for bringing us news of a possible vermin attack," Theta said to the gull.

"Call me Bonaparte. If you need any assistance, I can rally up some other gulls to help fight," said the gull.

"Let us not point any unnecessary attention to ourselves. For now I think that it would be best for you to keep an eye on the ship." After a pause Theta concluded, "It is late, and I think we are all very tired. We will think about this more come morning."

* * *

**Thanks to Jade TeaLeaf for reviewing, it is greatly appreciated. As for Gorvin Terass' accent, it is supposed to be Scottish. Remember to review, and you will make me very happy.**


	4. Calm Before the Storm

**What has it been… like a year since I've last updated. So sorry that it's been so long, but I just got really busy this past semester. For those that have found the story in the depths of the archives and read it, thank you. Even if I'm not getting any reviews it's still nice to know that it's still being read. :)**

After everyone retired to their quarters an otter named Bolare, a seasoned warrior and Lilly's mate, assembled his own war meeting. Bolare had always been war hungry and managed to make everything seem like an imminent threat.

There were six beasts in attendance: five otters and the seagull. Lilly, Bolare, Tavin, Schorl, and Bonaparte willingly joined the meeting. The Skipper of sea otters, on the other paw, was very hesitant. He was a firm believer that the island was well-hidden, but not even he could deny the fact that an ominous cloud hung over the sea that night. They had all come to the decision that Lilly and Bolare's cave would be the best place to meet, since it was out of earshot of Theta.

Their cave was relatively small so it seemed as if it were packed from floor to ceiling with shells and all sorts of knick-knacks. Lilly happened to be very fond of collecting anything that she found washed up on the beach.

When everybeast had assembled, they all just sat and stared at each other. No one knew how to break the tension that hung over their heads. It was so still that it seemed as if they were getting smothered by the very air around them. It was Skipper who eventually broke the silence.

"Well. Let's get on with this then. If we're all goin' ta sit around and look at each other all night, I'm goin' ta get some sleep." He was just getting up to leave when Bolare called him back down.

"No, please. I- we need all the help planning that we can get. I think that this ship is a very real and immediate threat to our peaceful livelihood. If we have the means to fight for our way of life, I say we fight to the very last beast."

"Hopefully the very last beast is ours and not theirs." Tavin quickly added.

"Right. We _must_ hold this island. If it gets overrun by searats, then this place will turn into a stronghold in which the vermin can prey on innocent ships and- "

"Oh stop makin' such a big deal out o' everything Bolare!" Skipper interrupted. "I mean we don't actually know if they will discover the island."

"Brothers…" sighed Lilly. "They always 'ave ta butt heads on everythin'."

"So, they're always like this then?" Bonaparte asked.

"Yep, and they'd continue goin' on like this even if the sea turned red." remarked Schorl.

* * *

"I can't b'lieve that 'e made me cum up 'ere in a storm like thissun. Now if'n I were cap'n- wouldn' that be sumthin', Cap'n Bilgeclaw. 'As a nice ring to't that does."

Just as the first mate was getting to the top of the crow's nest, the weasel, Slint, called up to him. "Oy! Ye mangy rat. What're ye doin' up thar inna storm like this?"

Slint was a short and slim female weasel. Her eyes were a deep brown and narrowed, as if she were constantly looking down the shaft of an arrow. She had a quiver full of arrows that were fletched with gull feathers, and a crossbow that was slung across her back. The clothes that she wore were as black as night, but everywhere else on her body was decorated with silver jewelry.

It was just at that moment that Bilgeclaw thought of an ingenious idea. It wasn't too often when he got to think since he was usually used for his brawn and not brain.

_"If'n I can get Slint on my side, may'aps I can get some o' the rest of the crew to go with this liddle idea o' mine." _As Bilgeclaw was formulating his plan a slow, thin smirk spread across his face.

"'Ey rat! What in the blazes are ye smlin' about up there." Slint yelled up at him.

"I'm thinkin'-"

"That 'splains all the smoke comin' out o' yore ears! Harharhar ha- I 'ope it doesn't 'urt too bad!" By this point Slint was practically doubled up on the deck guffawing.

Bilgeclaw muttered something unintelligible, and most likely rather rude to himself and then yelled down at the weasel, "Oh shaddup you! If ye want in on a liddle secret, I think you'd best cum up 'ere."

"Ooooo. I do love secrets," with that Slint started to climb up to the crow's nest. When she got to the top Bilgeclaw was sitting up there, still smirking to himself. "Wha' yore still smilin'? This must be a perty good secret."

"Better. Much better than ya t'ink. I 'ave an idea, an' I need yore 'elp to see it out-"

"Would ye spit it out already."

"Ah'm getting' to it. Jest be patient." Bilgeclaw leaned in close to Slint, and in a voice that was barely above a whisper, but with every word dripping with venom, he said, "'Ow would ye like ta be first mate."

"First mate ye say. Are ye plannin' on steppin' down?"

"I was thinkin' more o' the other way. If'n we turn the tables on the cap'n, we can both move up in rank." Bilgeclaw explained. "Wha's that on the 'orizon?"

* * *

"So it's settled then. The gull- er Bonaparte will go an' do a bit of spyin' on the ship."

"And then I'll fly right back to deliver the news, but I need to do something first."

"That's not part of the plan…"

"I'm going to recruit some reinforcements."

Bolare sunk back in his chair. "Sorry. I don't want anythin' going wrong," he muttered.

"Now, I think it's really time fer us all to get some sleep." That being said, they all departed and settled down to sleep.

"It's alright Bolare," Lilly whispered to him. "It'll all turn out fine." With that she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Outside there were two sets of ears pressed against the outside walls of the cave. Sturm and Drang had been eavesdropping on the entire meeting.

* * *

"Finally," Gorvin Terass said with an air of satisfaction, "Slint! Get down here. Ah need ta talk with ye."

"What do ye think that the cap'n wants with me?" Slint asked Bilgeclaw. For the first time in her life there was a moment of hesitation in doing something. Bilgeclaw waved her on, and she clambered down to the deck.

"Yes cap'n."

"Ah 'ave a funny feelin' that Bilgeclaw is plottin' something. Ah need ye ta keep an eye on 'im fer me. Do this an' there will be some pretty rewards fer ye at the end."

"Like what cap'n?" Slint asked, completely mesmerized.

"'Ow would ye like ta be first mate?"

"Aye-aye cap'n," said Slint, a sneer slowly spreading across her face.

It was still partly cloudy the next morning, although it had stopped raining. On Halfmoon Isle it seemed as if time had stopped. There was a gentle breeze that whispered secrets to the trees, as it blew through them. The sea, however, was restless and impatient. It seemed to be expecting something.

**Sorry if this chapter might be a tad confusing in terms of the timeline.**


End file.
